Antique Dutch Burr Walnut Bombé Cabinet Armoire 18th Century

This is a superb antique Dutch Rococo Burr Walnut bombé Armoire, Circa 1780 in date.  

It has been accomplished in stupendous burr walnut with masterfully hand carved mouldings. The drawer linings are of solid oak, it stands on its original hand carved ball and claw feet and the ormolu handles and escutcheons are also original.

The beautiful shaped top doors open to reveal a fully fitted interior with shelves and small drawers. The base has two half width drawers in the frieze with  two capacious full width drawers below.

Complete with original working locks and keys.

This exceptional piece represents a fantastic example of 18th century Dutch cabinetry at its finest.

Provenance:

Ashwick Court the beautiful late 17th Century Grade II listed house at Ashwick, Oak Hill, near Bath, for which it was reputedly commissioned.



 

Armoire is a tall, freestanding cabinet with doors that hide shelves and drawers. This piece of furniture in its present form was devised by the French in the 17th century. The armoire is a derived from the humble chest, and the name comes from the Latin word "armorium" which was a chest for storing armor. Originally an armoire was used to store armor and weapons.

Burr Walnut refers to the swirling figure present in nearly all walnut when cut and polished, and especially in the wood taken from the base of the tree where it joins the roots. However the true burr is a rare growth on the tree where hundreds of tiny branches have started to grow. Burr walnut produces some of the most complex and beautiful figuring you can find.

Angelica Kauffman, RA (1741 - 1807)

was a Swiss-born Austrian Neoclassical painter who had a successful career in London and Rome. Though born as "Kauffmann", Kauffman is the preferred spelling of her name in English; it is the form she herself used most in signing her correspondence, documents and paintings.

While Kauffman produced many types of art, she identified herself primarily as a history painter, an unusual designation for a woman artist in the 18th century. History painting, was considered the most elite and lucrative category in academic painting during this time period. Under the direction of Sir Joshua Reynolds, the Royal Academy made a strong effort to promote history painting to a native audience who were more interested in commissioning and buying portraits and landscapes.

Despite the popularity that Kauffman enjoyed in British society and her success as an artist, she was disappointed by the relative apathy that the British had towards history painting. Ultimately she left Britain for the continent, where history painting was better established, held in higher esteem and patronized.

The works of Angelica Kauffman have retained their reputation. By 1911, rooms decorated with her work were still to be seen in various quarters. At Hampton Court was a portrait of the duchess of Brunswick; in the National Portrait Gallery, a self-portrait. There were other pictures by her at Paris, at Dresden, in the Hermitage at St Petersburg, in the Alte Pinakothek atMunich, in Kadriorg Palace, Tallinn (Estonia).

Satinwood

is a hard and durable wood with a satinlike sheen, much used in cabinetmaking, especially in marquetry. It comes from two tropical trees of the family Rutaceae (rue family). East Indian or Ceylon satinwood is the yellowish or dark-brown heartwood of Chloroxylon swietenia.

The lustrous, fine-grained, usually figured wood is used for furniture, cabinetwork, veneers, and backs of brushes. West Indian satinwood, sometimes called yellow wood, is considered superior. It is the golden yellow, lustrous, even-grained wood found in the Florida Keys and the West Indies.

It has long been valued for furniture. It is also used for musical instruments, veneers, and other purposes. Satinwood is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Sapindales, family Rutaceae.